[MadIvan]

As a Catholic, I find the Pope's position embarassing. Jesus did not say "Keep in evil dictators at all costs."

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[Miss Marple]

Ivan, I note Tariq Aziz was in Rome about a week ago. I have been wondering if the Pope was threatened...as in destruction of cathedrals and shrines, executions of Iraqi Christians, terror targets on Catholics, etc.

It seems awfully coincidental, that Aziz visit.

[Land of the Irish]

As a Catholic, I find the Pope's position embarassing.

I agree with you. The Pope should condemn the one man who is responsible for the embargo of his own country. The embargo is U.N. sanctioned and the Pope complains about it. Yet, the Pope tells us not to go to war unless the U.N. approves. The same U.N. that is forcibly pushing abortion and birth control on developing nations. It's a shame he even acknowledges any moral or legal authority to the U.N.

[rface]

Although the meeting had been billed as "strictly private", the Vatican later took the unexpected step of issuing a statement to disclose what had clearly been an intense discussion.

[MeekMom]

Way to go Tony!!!
Hope you keep the dogs at bay as well!
God Bless you Tony!!!

btw, thanks for the thread Ivan

[XEHRpa]

As I said on another thread...

< Tinfoil > Call me crazy, but I thought it odd when Tariq Aziz met with the Pope last week, even going out of his way to throw gratuitous anti-Israeli jabs at the press. Aziz is a Christian by the way. And now the Pope meets with Blair.

Maybe the Pope routinely gets personally involved before an outbreak of hostility, but I wouldn't be surprised to read 20 years from now that Aziz was our Baghdad mole who passed vital info through the Pope to the West.

Furthermore, < Double-ply Tinfoil > the Pope would have to take this position to provide cover for Aziz. < /Double-ply Tinfoil> < /Tinfoil >

I'm not Catholic, but I retain my great respect for the Pope, in any case.

[Conservative til I die]

As a Catholic, I find the Pope's position embarassing. Jesus did not say "Keep in evil dictators at all costs."

I respectfully disagree with what you're saying here. I think it's ridiculous to say that the Pope's objective is to protect a tyrant like Saddam Hussein "at all costs." The Pope's is trying to stress that war should be a final option and if possible, find a peaceful way to end this. It's been alluded by the US government that if Hussein were to go into exile, this would be satisfactory. Now I know and you know it's not going to happen, but if it did, wouldn't that be a satisfactory solution? I support the war, but I don't believe that we should go to war just for going to sake of war. If the objective is to remove Hussein so we can keep him from making or using his weapons, that's fine. If he were to step down, I can't see the purpose of going to Iraq other than to look tough.